Manning is ‘leaning towards’ staying at MK Dons after QPR interest

Dons boss Liam Manning had been linked to a move to QPR this summer, but interest appears to be cooling

Interest from Queens Park Rangers in MK Dons head coach Liam Manning appears to be cooling, according to reports.

After leading Dons to third place in League One in his first season as a first team coach in England, Manning raced into pole position to replace Mark Warburton at Loftus Road after the former Rangers boss declared he would be leaving at the end of the season.

While Manning admitted he wants ‘to be the best I can be’ when asked about the speculation linking him to the QPR job a few weeks ago, the interest now appears to be cooling.

TalkSPORT reporter Alex Crook claims Manning had been in contact with representatives from the Championship side, who finished 11th last time out, but was not wholly sold on the move.

On Twitter, he wrote: “Told Liam Manning is leaning towards staying at #MKDons having spoken to #QPR.”

The betting odds appear to have reflected this too, with Manning dropping back to 5/1, with a new favourite for the job emerging in the form of Gareth Ainsworth, who is now posted at 6/4.

The Wycombe boss, after narrowly beating MK Dons in the League One play-off semi-finals, lost out on an immediate return to the Championship with the Chairboys when they were beaten 2-0 by Sunderland at Wembley on Saturday in the play-off final.

Ainsworth racked up more than 150 appearances for the R’s during his playing career, and began his managerial career at Loftus Road too, taking over as caretaker manager in 2008 following the sacking of Ian Dowie, and then again in 2009 after Paulo Sousa’s departure from the club.